BUJUMBURA, April 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The campaign for the May 20 presidential, legislative and municipal elections in Burundi began on Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The campaign will last until May 17, according to a presidential decree. It begins at 6 am and ends at 6 pm each day, “all propaganda” outside the set period being prohibited.
Seven candidates are running for the presidential election, including the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s General Evariste Ndayishimiye, who is presented on election posters as the “heir” of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has been in office since 2005 but is not standing for re-election.
His main opponent is the historic leader of the former Hutu rebel FNL and candidate of the National Council for Liberty (CNL) party, Agathon Rwasa.
The campaign opens as the opposition accuses the government of deliberately minimising the Covid-19 pandemic, to avoid the population questioning the sense in holding the elections.
The authorities, for whom the country is protected by “divine grace”, provided practically no specific protection measures for the electoral rallies. Burundi has officially registered 15 cases of new coronavirus, including one death.
A great effervescence has taken hold of the country. During the night, posters with the names of the candidates flourished everywhere. Trucks and buses are already full of activists on their way to the first meetings.
The CNDD-FDD launched its campaign in Bugendana commune, in the central province of Gitega, on Monday, with great pomp and pageantry.
The CNL has chosen Ngozi, stronghold of President Nkurunziza, and has mobilized dozens of buses to bring thousands of activists from all over the country.
“The Ceni (Electoral Commission) has given us kits made up of buckets of water and soap so that the supporters who are going to take part in the meetings can wash their hands, but we realise that this will be useless,” a politician said.
“Everybody is obsessed with the electoral stakes today (…) We’ll think about the pandemic later,” he regretted. — NNN-AGENCIES
